Why don’t you set your wings on fire?

@Ennis

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Now this was a lovely spot.

The gray-furred wolf lounged on a rock overlooking the lake, head resting on his forelegs. He listened to the gentle, even trickle of the waterfall pouring into the lake, leaving a clear, empty patch of dark water among the forest of lily pads. Eyes closed, he let himself doze off.

Until, of course, he heard a splash. Slowly, dreamily, he opened one eye. A fish, perhaps? He’d noticed vivid orange carp darting beneath the surface now and then, accompanied by silvery trout and muted green gills. This would be an excellent spot to do some fishing, he thought. If only he could remember how…

Ugh. His stomach rumbled. He’d managed to forage and scavenge enough to get by, but this whole surviving day-to-day thing was really dragging him down. Was this what animals really did all day? Was this what he was doomed to think about for the rest of his life? What he was going to eat next, and nothing else?

Depressing. And boring.

His mood suddenly soured, Nemo sat up with a wide yawn. But when he looked back at the lakeshore, he realized he wasn’t alone. Company! At last. Interest glittered in his brown eyes.

“Come to ponder your sorrows by the water?” Nemo drawled, peering down at the stranger.

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He didn't know where Ambrose was, frankly, Ennis probably didn't actually care. She did what she liked and he did the same; something he appreciated about the odd, bizarre dynamic the two of them had created. He wasn't one to be held down, not by the likes of someone like her, that was—he craved freedom, adventure, all that corny shit. 

A brief stroll from the forests he and Ambrose had briefly settled in had led the lanky wolf towards a region consumed by succulents and greenery, wafting with the smells of plant life. He was drawn in by the lily decorated lake that sprawled beneath the terrace, his slender forelegs picking carefully through the growth that covered the grounds, so drawn in he hadn't noticed the figure lounging at the top. 

He nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling a bizarre stare onto the wolf. “Gods!” The wolf remarked with vexation, his scowl dragging from the figure to the lake's surface, watching as it rippled curiously. 

A sarcastic smile spawned upon his thin maw. “No, I've come to play with the fish.” 

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“Mmm. I’ve heard you can train them,” Nemo said dryly. “Haven’t figured how to get them to jump into my mouth, alas.”

He offered the stranger a crooked smile.

“My apologies; I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Slowly, he stood up and stretched—trying to get a better look at the other visitor to this mystically beautiful lake. Or resident; Nemo hadn’t paid close attention to any scent markers. He hadn’t had the strength to accept that aspect of being a dog into his life, yet.

“By any chance, do you happen to know where the fuck we are?” He said this very politely, in spite of swearing. “I’ve been trying to figure this out for a while now.”

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His head lifted slightly, lip curling to reveal the left side of his teeth, honey eyes peeling rudely across the form of the other. He rose from his seated position and Ennis found him to be rather tall, built rather sturdy; not egregiously large like some of the beasts he'd caught eyesight of since his arrival on the plane. 

Yeah, Ennis could take him in a fight. He was confident of it—perhaps... a little too confident, and blind. 

“Nice one.” Ennis offered a fake laugh, obnoxious for just a moment as it was brief. He moved suddenly, paws twitching, aching to not be stationary. The wolf had a point though. It'd be nice if the food just... offered itself up to you. Ennis peered down into the waters, lifting a paw to bat at the surface, leering quietly in search for the scaled things that swam beneath. 

His ears perked when questioned, drawing his attention once more back to the man. This time, his smile was almost genuine, and he was suddenly curious about him. Few were so crass in their speech, in a way that was still... elegant. He saw himself in the flash of the words, prompting a glower of intrigue Perhaps they could get along. “Don't got a damn clue!” Ennis breathed, dramatically moving to flop against the water's shore, dipping his paws into the pool. 

“But, glad to be here. Pretty sure I got killed in my last life.” He cracked a laugh, and then a joyous sigh, as if reminiscing. “That was a good life. Probably shouldn't have pissed off those arseholes.”

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Nemo did not entirely understand why the other wolf was leering at him like that. He had not grown used to the whole nature, red in tooth and claw sort of thing. If, indeed, that was what it was. He’d been a spellcaster for a reason. If he had to dispatch enemies, he preferred to do so from at least twenty feet away. Ideally, of course, he wouldn’t make any enemies. Prevention is the best cure, and so forth.

He was about to get down off the rock to bring them both on equal ground—but then the stranger opened his mouth again. What he said startled Nemo so much he tripped…

…And in the process, tumbled into the lake. Fortunately, it wasn’t very deep here.

He quickly sat up in the shallows. A few lilypads were stuck to his back.

“Sorry,” Nemo wheezed. His nose was burning from the lakewater he’d inhaled. “Did you say you were murdered?”

He couldn’t decide if the other wolf was joking or not. If nothing else, he was certainly…interesting. As if he hadn’t just flopped ungracefully into the lake, he stood up and strode onto the shore with elegant steps, tail swishing with vague curiosity. One water lily was still attached to his neck; he rather liked the look of the pale yellow flower against his dark fur, so he decided to leave it there.

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Ouch.

Ennis' eyes followed the blue pelted wolf as he made his descent down from the terrace, and he flinched at every bump and bounce of his body until he finally landed in the shallow pools of the water source. Ennis placed his foot back down from where it'd been hauled upwards towards his chest in a seized reaction, blinking curiously at the man before him.

Must be new here. Ennis smirked, something devious and mischievous, and he nodded almost wistfully. 

“Sure.” He lifted his paw and gestured lightly, as if it were no big deal, and drew himself onto his own haunches, settling in for whatever conversation was about to be had with the stranger. “One minute, I was getting my ass handed to me by these goons. Next minute, I wake up here. As if it never happened.” He heaved a light sigh. 

“Considering the company I got stuck with,” Ennis rolled his eyes at the thought of the smart mouthed @Ambrose. “Kinda wish I stayed dead.”

jester

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Despite having ping-ponged his way to where the other wolf was sitting, Nemo still found it in himself to be fascinated. And amused. Morbidly so. If nothing else, this fellow certainly knew how to spin a story.

His attention drawn, Nemo sat down as well. At the other’s remark on company, however, he couldn’t help but bark a laugh.

“You mean someone else?” he said with a lopsided grin. “Surely I’m not that hard to look at.” Surreptitiously, he plucked a few stray specks of algae from his fur—and then carefully picked up the lily flower in his teeth.

“Well, if it helps, I haven’t seen any goons here besides myself,” he added. “How did you manage to piss them off that badly?”

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